Katrina Exposes the Dire Consequences of Poverty Figures released by leading child policy organization demonstrate the extreme vulnerabilities faced by children and families who live in poverty

As the nation faces another devastating hurricane, the National
Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) issues two reports on the
status of poverty in the affected region and urges policymakers to
recognize the consequences of unchecked poverty nationally.

“We are seeing systemic poverty of the worst kind. The
families left behind by Katrina were physically trapped because
they are also trapped by poverty,” said Dr. Nancy Cauthen,
Deputy Director of the National Center for Children in Poverty.
“Many of the affected families had no transportation, and
many didn’t even have telephone service to call for
help.”

NCCP’s reports highlight the extreme level of poverty that
existed in New Orleans, evidenced by the fact that one in five
households did not have a car and 8% of all households had no phone
service. A lack of transportation and a lack of communication put
hurricane victims’ lives in jeopardy.

Throughout the Gulf Coast states, rates of extreme child
poverty—that is, children in families with annual incomes of
less than $10,000 for a family of four—are among the highest
in the nation.

13% of all children in Louisiana live in extreme poverty

12% of all children in Mississippi live in extreme poverty

8% of all children in Alabama live in extreme poverty

And in the City of New Orleans, 38% percent of all children
live in poverty—which is more than double the national child
poverty rate (17% U.S. ).

“Federal and state authorities have long known about the
magnitude of poverty in the region. The only surprising thing here
is that the nation has failed to adequately address the
issue,” said Dr. Cauthen.

As the media show faces of poverty in the Gulf Coast region that
are disproportionately black, NCCP’s reports confirm the
extreme racial disparities: poverty rates for African-American
children far surpass poverty rates for white children not only in
the Gulf region but nationally as well.

In Louisiana, 44% of all African-American children live in
poverty; 9% of white children do.

In Mississippi, 41% of African-American children live in poor
families; 10% of white children do.

In Alabama, 42% of African- American children live in poor
families; 11% of white children do.

Across the United States, 33% of African-American children live
in poor families; 10% of white children do.

For more information on NCCP and child poverty, please visit
http://www.nccp.org . To
schedule an interview with the authors of the report, please
contact Mike Morey at 914-833-7093 or
mmorey@douglasgould.com
.